Tunnel operators say Hamas has ordered smuggling routes from Egypt into Gaza shut

Hamas orders Gaza smuggling tunnels shut

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas ordered smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border temporarily closed, cutting a key economic lifeline for 1.5 million Palestinians in the impoverished territory.

A senior Hamas official said the tunnels were cleared at Egypt’s request following warnings from Israel that they could be used in a plot to snatch Israelis vacationing in the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Gaza.

The Hamas official said the warnings raised fears that Israel could launch new airstrikes on the tunnels. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing sensitive communications with Egypt.

The tunnels have frequently been targeted by Israeli war planes in the past, and Israel and the United States have urged Egypt to do more to prevent the smuggling.

Hamas ordered the tunnels closed late Tuesday, hours after Israel told its citizens to leave Sinai, saying it had “concrete” evidence that militants were trying to kidnap Israelis.

The tunnels were briefly reopened Wednesday afternoon but only to allow smugglers to retrieve shipments stranded underground, said a Hamas security official on the border. The official, who was not permitted to be identified, said operators were told not to bring in any new merchandise or sneak people through tunnels.

Issa Nashar, the Hamas mayor of the Gaza border town of Rafah, initially said he expected the tunnels to remain closed for a few days because of “safety” problems. Later Wednesday, he said the tunnels had reopened and declined further comment.

There was no immediate explanation for the contradictory statements.

The Sinai desert abuts Gaza, and the commander of Israel’s anti-terror office, Brig. Gen. Nitzan Nuriel, said it is possible that “there is a terror cell that has the intention and has a plan in operation to kidnap an Israeli and bring him to Gaza.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it was not aware of anyone missing in Sinai.

Israel and Egypt have kept Gaza’s borders largely sealed since Hamas-allied militants captured an Israeli soldier and took him to Gaza nearly four years ago.

With Hamas’ support, Gazans have evaded the blockade by digging hundreds of smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt, bringing in commercial goods, cash, weapons and people.

Two tunnel operators, a tunnel worker and a truck driver involved in transporting contraband said Hamas security forces arrived in the tunnel area on Tuesday evening and told everyone to leave until further notice. Tunnel operators said they were warned of unspecified punishment if they ignored the order.

Most tunnels are privately run, but Hamas retains overall control and has a heavy security presence in the smuggling area. Some tunnels are believed to be under Hamas’ direct control for bringing in cash, weapons and possibly militants.

The tunnels run side by side under the border, with just a few yards (meters) between each, their entrances covered by tents. On normal business days, the humming of generators, which power lighting, pulleys and other equipment, mixes with the sound of trucks rumbling along the unpaved paths.

Wednesday’s closure added to the woes of the tunnel industry. Rafah officials say Egypt has stepped up a crackdown on smuggling in recent months, setting up checkpoints in the border area and confiscating contraband. Egypt is also building an underground steel wall to block the tunnels.

The officials say the Egyptian measures have led to a sharp slowdown in tunnel traffic in recent months, pinching the local economy.

Ghazi Hamad, the Hamas official in charge of the official border crossing with Egypt, said Egypt closed the Rafah passenger terminal there until further notice. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, hardship cases, such as medical cases, are usually allowed to cross, even though the border is mostly closed to other passengers.

The Gaza-Egypt border sits at the northeastern tip of the Sinai desert.

The Red Sea resort beaches of Sinai, a popular vacation spot for Israelis and other foreign tourists, are on the southeast coast roughly 200 miles (300 kilometers) from Rafah and near a border crossing between Israel and Sinai.

Late Tuesday, in unusually strong wording, Israel’s anti-terror office called on all Israelis in Sinai “to leave immediately and return home,” and cited “concrete evidence of an expected terrorist attempt to kidnap Israelis in Sinai.”

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said about 650 Israelis were in Sinai when the warning was issued — about half the number the counterterrorism office initially presented. By late Wednesday, about 220 Israelis remained in Sinai, he said.

A string of deadly suicide bombings in 2004 at several vacation spots popular with Israelis — including the Taba Hilton Hotel just across the Israeli border — has led many Israelis to shun the Sinai, though the area still remains relatively popular.

In addition to the 2004 suicide bombings, which killed dozens, bombers have also struck the Sinai resort towns of Sharm el-Sheikh in 2005 and Dahab in 2006, killing dozens more.

Disgruntled Bedouin Arabs influenced by extremist groups were implicated in the Sharm and Dahab attacks.

Associated Press Writers Amy Teibel in Jerusalem, Rizek Abdel Jawad in Gaza City and Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.